SHANGHAI, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The Chief Executive Officer of Chilean state copper company Codelco, Nelson Pizarro, will visit research institutes in China to learn about lithium extraction on his current trip to Asia, he said on Wednesday.

Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the Asia Copper Conference, Pizarro said the exchanges were aimed at "analysing or getting to know the technology to extract lithium, because we don't have experience in this."

Codelco has lithium assets in Chile but is currently not producing the metal, Pizarro said. More than 10 companies have expressed interest in partnering with Codelco to exploit its lithium assets in Chile, Codelco Chairman Oscar Landerretche told Reuters last month.

Asked why Codelco was looking to learn about lithium from the Chinese specifically, Pizarro pointed to the growing demand for the metal in batteries for China's booming electric vehicles sector. He declined to comment when asked if Chinese companies might invest in Codelco's lithium assets.